Pasta farts
I'm currently investigating the '07 Aprilia Tuono (R and Factory versions). I had heard a rumour a while ago that the OEM ohlins shocks were not as good as the aftermarket components.
Could this be because it is sprung/valved for average-target-market-joe and not specifically set up for the owner? or is it just all a rumour?
Should I bother with the Factory, or would I benefit more from getting an R and then purchasing the ohlins suspenders seperately?
Last edited by Devil; 12th September 2007 at 14:33.
The Ragin Cajun
you are far better getting the R, with the ohlins, and wheels, and just the stock ohlins units respung if you such need,
in the long run if you work out costs of putting it on afterwards its much cheaper to buy it new like that
Pasta farts
Nah, the R is running showa up front with a sachs rear...
Both have the same gold series brembo's though...
The Ragin Cajun
yeah i would go the factory mate, no questions.Originally Posted by Devil
For the small amount $$ wise to go factory, its well worth it in bling factor alone
Pasta farts
Yeah, $4k difference for the suspension, wheels and tasty carbon bits.
Original question still stands though. I'm not the only person who has heard somewhere or other that the OEM units are "not as good" as off the shelf units.
Mr Taylor?
The Ragin Cajun
some people don't think the front ohlins is as good as getting a set of ohlins r&t forks from dealer, but saying that they are better quality then other brands, and all in all, its easy to get someone like Robert Taylor or simlar get you springs better suited for you, and work his magic, and you would come better off since the outside package is better than say your average run of mill showa outsides,
The rear shock i don't understand why be any different than one you would buy, spring might need changing to suit you.
i would suggust you go have a look @ http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/index.php and see what you can find by reading, i did a bunch of research before we brought the rsvr on there
Forum whore
From what RT said, I took it as the older Japanese (mid to late 90s) factory Ohlins gear is substandard compared to regular Ohlins gear, and the later stuff (like the R1SP) and the European fitments, were fine.
.....your time is coming
Out of interest, where is the best place to go for say for suspension upgrades, like different springs??
The Ragin Cajun
for aprilia?
.....your time is coming
No, my SV.....................
The Ragin Cajun
Robert Taylor, ther eis someone AKl based not to sure of his name tho, one of akl boys should know
Forum whore
This is oversimplifying it a little, there are two different Ohlins customers.
1 ) Aftermarket distributor, like myself
2) OEM bike ( and car ) manufacturers. The hardware is the same but the spec code is different. I cannot buy the built up shocks of the exact specification that Ohlins supply exclusively to say Aprilia. But I can access the spec codes and tech info pertaining to them via a password protected Ohlins distributor website. I can also purchase every single individual part that constitutes those shocks, as I said the hardware is the same.
Where the oem Aprilia Ohlins shocks largely vary from the aftermarket Ohlins ones that I can source is that they simply lack a hydraulic spring preload adjuster, instead substituted with manually adjustable lockrings. This is done purely for cost considerations. The performance of the suspension units is exactly the same. As with any suspension unit they are supposedly set up for the mythical average, but the performance levels are much better than the woeful Sachs options, etc. In fairness Sachs also can make excellent shocks, most impressively so in past seasons for Michael Schumachers Ferraris.
With respect to the Ohlins road and track forks I beleive these are a much better ''platform'' for several reasons, as follows;
1 ) Less friction
2 ) Much more precise tolerancing, the cartridge bushings are on exactly the same centreline as the cartridge tube themselves, which in turn are also on exactly the same centreline as the main fork tubes!!!! Yes, I am saying that the precision in the ( especially ) KYB offerings is ''off centre''
3) Much more rigidity and therefore less bind up under braking.
The internal settings can indeed be improved substanially to suit our higher percentage of ''choppy'' roads and race tracks. To date we would have revalved in excess of 100 sets, this spec works famously and we have all of those customers totally satisfied.
Whether its Ohlins or whatever NZ is a very insignificant percentage of the worlds population so we get what predominantly satisfies the worlds main markets. BUT, IMPORTANTLY, this is a product that is designed to be serviced and tunable. There is also a wealth of knowledge and experience / database of empirical knowledge that can be tapped into to optimise the product for every market circumstance.
Jamie Stauffer raced an 06 YZFR1SP ( Ohlins rear AND front end standard ) to win the 06 Aussie Superbike Championship. Again he raced the 06 model for the greatest part of the 07 Aussie champs ( retaining the title ) even though the 07 bike was available. There was a protracted development time to get the engine performance of the 07 as desired but also the 07 doesnt have an Ohlins front fork set, and a compelling reason for continuing to race the 06 was the performance of the Ohlins forks!
Note that there was an FGK cartridge inset upgrade kit also available to fit those 06 YZFR1SP forks. The basic forks themselves are great and as I have intimated the standard cartridges in them can be improved substanially in performance.
BUT, this is what people often lose sight of, IMPROVEMENT IS A TERM OF RELATIVITY AND THERE IS NO PERFECT SETTING. These forks can be improved yet again with FGK cartridge kits, which are a quickly accessible design able to be dismantled and the settings changed quickly, often from track to track. We do exactly that here in NZ and in searching for best performance why wouldnt you ( excepting indolence or indeed resigned ignorance ? )
Ducati 1098 with Ohlins front and rear...excellent hardware but what planet were the Italian test riders on? For an average weight rider the rear is oversprung and the compression valving in the front is too weak. Already we have a cure for that, because that is what we do. My point is ( and this is being totally candid and transparent ) you can have excellent hardware but the end result is still very dependent on the settings.
There are cost plateaus. The next step were it allowable would be $17k worth of Ohlins Superbike forks. But then thats a far cry from what the likes of Stoner, Rossi and Vermulien etc have available to them.
So, the higher spec Aprilias with the sexy Swedish suspenders do indeed give you a much better set of equipment to play with.
Pasta farts
Awesome. Thanks for the response.
Taranaki Hardcore Biker
Well said Robert, go the factory avenue if you've got the extra coin, try pricing up the forks alone, that should make it an easy choice. Saying that a mate of mine bought an 06 Tuono R & has put a Ohlins on the rear which has transformed it, worth every penny he reckons.Several mates of mine have had Dr Taylor perform revalving/servicing mods to their Aprilia's Ohlins forks & are chuffed with the results,a mate just this Saturday picked up his Ohlins shock for his Aprilia that Robert has rebuilt & was more than impressed with the cost & Roberts service. So once again, big ups to Dr Taylor !Awesome. Thanks for the response.
As mad as a spider, and twice as hairy !
The Ragin Cajun
Just a bit of a follow up on this i found this bit of info on the aprilia site, not to sure how accurate it is
' The Aprilia Ohlins forks are different from regular R/T forks. They are of a lesser quality, use steel shafts as opposed to aluminum, and are assembled somewhere in asia. There are also a few other minor differences as well.'
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